Medicine a science and an art : a lecture introductory to the course in the Medical Institution of Geneva College

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itteiricine a Science aub an 2lrt.

A LECTURE

INTRODUCTORY TO THE COURSE

IN THB

MEDICAL INSTITUTION OF GEXEVA COLLEGE:

BY C. B. COVENTRY, M. D.

Professor of Obst. I B in J Children, and

DELiyEBED MAEOH 7th, 1850.

1>I IIMNHII) BY THE CLA§8,

GENEVA, N. V.:
; <•>. S B. PA-BKBB, PRINTERS

1>30.

3X

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F. W. Putnam.

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!'u RUE> I'll NDEN IE.

Geneva MlDiriLCoLlEOB, April 5, 1850.

i'EOE C. D COVENTBT

Dbar Sib,

At a meeting of the Medical Cluia neM on tho 2nd lmt .,— Mr
M. Tlradbury, Chairman, and Mr. ]■'.. I) I'oweri, Socrotary,— tbe undereiirned were ep
pointed a commlttoe to solicit for publication a copy of your abloand intonating Addreti
delivered at tho opening uf tho praa«nt Session

I'ermlt ua, Sir, to assure you of tho peculiar pleasure it would give uf Individually
to aoo, at (i tlmo when error and false protei don ram 10 ready an access to tho public
eai, the general dissemination of tho truo and juat aentimonta contained in your Address
Very respectfully, youra

ALFRED BOBOfSOM,

CHARLES M I I

II. KMMI'TT ROBERTS,

ALBERT I TUTTLE,

0.0. KAR8HA1 .!.,— Committrt

To Messes ItoniNsoN, LIB, Marihai.l, Hodebts Ann Tt'TTLB i

GENTLEMEN:

Your polite note of the 5th, askinii on beh&lf of tho
Medical Class, • copy of my Introductory Lecture for pubUi Ntftxl I'ermit

mo to thank you, and through you tho Class for this mark of nttontiou and respect The
Lecture wan written amidst tho prossuro of other avocations, and I fear is scarce worthy
the compliment paid to it. It was, however, written for tho Class , and if they deem It
worthy a more dasirablo form, is at their service.

Most respectfully and truly
youra,

C D. COVENTRY
Ojskeva Medu'aL Collbwe,
April 0, 1850.

MITTEE OF PUBLICATION.

Geneva, April 6, 1850.
At a meeting of the Medical Class of Geneva College, the un-
dersigned were appointed a counnitteo of publication of the Intro-
ductory Address of Prof. C. 13. Covi:ntrv.

CHARLES II. KELLY,
BEN* BALE, Jr.
GEORGE ABBOTT,
WM. S. BARKER,
DAVID V. WAITE.

ADDRESS

Gentlemen :

The revolution of a year finds us once more assembled
in these halls dedicated to science, to renew the interesting
relation of instructor and pupil. In behalf of my col-
leagues and myself, I would bid you welcome. Your
presence on this occasion is an earnest that you are actua-
ted by no sordid or mercenary motive ; that you appreci-
ate the responsibilities of the profession you have chosen ;
and are determined to qualify yourselves for the faithful
discharge of its high duties. Tcnuit me to congratulate
you, and to return thanks to the great Ruler of the world,
that whilst during the present year disease and death have
ravaged the country and hurried many to an early an un-
timely grave, we have been spared and permitted once
more to assemble and to renew those ties which bind to-
gether persons engaged in the same common pursuit.

As preliminary to entering on the several departments,
I have boon requested by my colleagues to address you
on the general subject of our profession.

What is the profession of medicine r Is it a science or
;m art, 01 the two combined? The term physician is de-
rived from a Greek word " Phuis," Nature ; and a phy-

6

sician literally means a student of nature. It is to be re-
gretted that it should ever have been wrested from its
original signification. The word surgeon, or chirurgeon
was derived from two Greek words which signify hand
and work, or work of the hand ; and applied more appro-
priately to the olden time when the same individual prac-
tised the joint profession of surgeon and barber, or when
the whole art of surgery consisted in the operative. In
modern times the head has come to be considered quite as
important to the surgeon as the hand ; still as so much de-
pends on the skill of the operator it may with more pro-
priety be termed an art than some other departments of
the profession. The word Doctor has been most sadly
perverted in this country from its original meaning. It is
derived from the Latin doctus, learned, or doceo, to teach,
and applies equally to either of the other learned profes-
sions as to medicine.

In Great Britain the term doctor is never used to signi-
fy a particular profession. The terms physician and sur-
geon, and apothecary are used to designate the several
branches of medical practice, and the degree of Doctor of
Medicine is only applied as is the term Doctor of Divinity,
or Law. The degree of M. D. is only conferred as an
honorary title on such as have acquired distinction in the
profession. The general application of the term doctor in
this country to every person who prescribes, or deals in
medicine, is a most gross perversion of its original meaning.
The proper designation for one who practices the profes-
sion of medicine would be Physician and Surgeon. The
Physician is, strictly what the term implies, a student of
nature. In earlier times persons who were engaged in the
study of the different branches of natural history were

9

termed physicians, but the whole science presented too
broad a field for a single mind, and, as if by common con-
sent, the term physician was restricted tothosewho stud-
ied nature with reference to the prevention of disease or
the restoration of health.

We dwell on this subject because the meaning of terms
often becomes so perverted by use that it is only by tra-
cing them to their origin that we are able to understand
their true import. A Physician then, is a student of na-
ture, one who studies not for mere amusement, but to ap_
ply his knowledge to the noblest of all purposes, that of
relieving the sufferings of his fellow men: whilst the term
Philosopher, or lover of learning, is used to d< '>ne

who embraces in his studies the whole circle of the scien-

Yon perceive then that the study of medicine embr
the whole domain of nature, whatever influences the health
and life 0f man ; as theair he breathes, the food that nour-
ishes the body, the water he drinks; the temperature of
the air ns well as his condition morally, socially and po-
litieallv, are all within the Legitimate sphere of his re-
searches, as well as the numerous articles of the Materia
Medica used for the removal of disease.

[f we look around us and witness the regular succession
of the seasons, of day and night, summer and winter, seed
time and harvest, we must soon be satisfied that these are

; matters of chance, but occur in accordance with some
great law implanted in them by their Creator. If we ex-
amine more closely we find that the minutest affairs of
hie are governed by the same immutable laws, the same
principle that attracts the (ailing apple to the earth, holds
the planets in their course. It is only by the immutability
2

10

ol these laws that man is able to subdue all earth to his
use, and by a study and knowledge of them that he makes
the elements his ministering agents. 'Tis by this that he
makes the fire his companion, and the lightning his mes-
senger and his servant. The animal creation seem im-
pelled by certain internal impulses to perform those acts
which are necessary for their nourishment and preserva-
tion, and this without the aid of reason and reflection ; but
man is endowed with these instinctive propensities in a
comparatively slight degree, and it is only by knowing and
obeying the natural laws by which he is surrounded that
life can be maintained. It is this which constitutes the
distinction between man and animals, and it is the more
perfect knowledge of these laws which makes the distinc-
tion between man in a savage and civilized state. Let ug
take the simplest illustration. A knowledge of the prop-
erties and uses of fire belongs exclusively to man. Yet
man even in the savage state (all but the very lowest) has
sufficient knowledge of its law to know its use in supply-
ing warmth, and that it can only be maintained by a reg-
ular supply of fuel ; but his fire is built in the open air
where he is exposed to cold winds and rain, or in the cen-
ter of his wigwam where the smoke and soot render it
rather a nuisance than a blessing. Compare this with its
use in civilized life where a better knowledge of its laws
enables us to warm our apartments and dwellings with-
out the inconvenience of smoke ; to cook our food, and
by its property of expanding fluids and generating steam,
to do the work of millions of hands, to plow the ocean
with splendid palaces, and to propel the car along the
iron track, with the velocity of the wind. Look at the
agriculturist, he has no power to make a single blade of

11

grass to grow, and yet he plants his seed in the earth with
the most perfect assurance of reaping a rich reward for
all his labors; such is his confidence in the unerring laws
of nature. He knows that the conditions for the germina-
tion of seeds are warmth, moisture, light and electricity.
By preserving his seed in a cool, dry and dark situation it
will keep for years; but by selecting the proper season
and then committing it to the earth, where it meets the
conditions necessary for its growth, it germinates. Some-
thing more than mere germination is necessary, the soil
must be properly prepared in order to permit the roots to
ramify in every direction in search of moisture and nour-
ishment. Again, the soil and air must contain all tli
ments necessary for its nutrition, or it soon withers and
dies. The same warmth, moisture and nourishment that
-causes the grain to vegetate stimulates into life or activity
the thousands of seed which the soil contain
must be extirpated or they choke the young plant and
suck up the nourishment intended for its growth ; all these
conditions must be known and fulfilled. Why is one man
more successful than another, but that he fulfils more per-
fectly the Laws or conditions of vegetable life and growth 1
What a difference between the scientific agriculturalist
who knows and obeys, or fulfils these1 laws, and the igno-
rant routinist who merely does what he has seen others
do before without stopping to enquire why or wherefore?*
The farmer may have but partially fulfilled the condi-
tions, then he is not entirely disappointed but has a sickly,
feeble and imperfect crop. Let us proceed one step fur-

* The scientific study and cultivation of agriculture has within a few
years elevated it from one of the humblest to one of the most interesting and
• Invnted, and at the same time one of the most useful occupations of man.

12

ther. The scientific agriculturalist propagates and breeds
his domestic animals with almost the same certainty as he
raises his crop of grain, by learning and obeying the laws
or conditions of their organization. How much has been
accomplished in improving the different races of domes-
tic animals by studying the laws of propagation? Com-
pare the beauty and fleetness of the blooded races, with
the miserable apology for a horse we see in our streets, or
the coarse wool of the common sheep with the silky soft-
ness and fineness of the saxon. The same law of vitality
(modified, it is true, by a thousand contingent circumstan-
ces) which applies to animals applies also to man. Can
we suppose for a moment that whilst the vegetation and
growth of the humblest violet is governed by fixed and
established laws, that whilst we see this principle perva-
ding all nature, that man, the last and noblest work of
creation is left to the mere caprice of chance, and that
sickness, disease and death are the result of accident?
Truly has it been said not a sparrow falls to the ground
without the will of your Father which is in heaven, and
the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Man is so
elevated in constitution, so complicated and refined in
structure, so surrounded by contingent circumstances as
to render the laws which govern his life and health infinite-
ly complex. With our present and imperfect knowledge
it is impossible to know and fulfil them with the same cer-
tainty as in the vegetable or even in the animal creation ;
but that they are as fixed and immutable no one can doubt.
The study and investigation of these laws as they ap-
ply to man is the study in which we are engaged, it is the
study of medicine. What nobler study could engage the
mind of man than that of his Creator's will as manifested

13

in his noblest work ! Or to what holier use could he ap-
ply his knowledge tban in relieving the sufferings of his
fellow men !

Medicine then is the science of life, and the art of apply-
ing that science to prevent and relieve the sufFerino-s of
our fellow men. It has sometimes, by way of derision,
been termed " ars conjecturalis," or in other words, the
art of guessing. But can a science which has its founda-
tion in the immutable laws of nature be termed a conjec-
tural art '? Does the husbandman when he sows his seed
merely guess that it will grow? Our knowledge is ob-
tained from three sources. First, the known, established
and immutable laws of nature, as it regards propagation,
growth or development and nourishment of the animal
economy. Second, the accumulated and recorded expe-
rience of others (or ages, as to the causes and symptoms
of disease. And third, from personal observation and ex-
perience.* All disease, no doubt, arises from a violation
of the laws or conditions of health. It may be from igno-
rant or wilful violation on 1 he part of the individual ; or it
may be from a violation of those laws on the part of his
progenitors ; or may arise from causes be}~ond his control :
thus in cases of some epidemic diseases the atmosphere
may be so much deranged that no care or precaution
would protect the individual against disease. Still there

"It is feared that there are some in t'uo practice of the profession who ha\e
but little or no knowledge of tho first, but n limited knowledge of the
second, and profit but little by tho third ; but who, like the ngriculturaliit
without fcience, goes plodding on year after year in the same course he had
seen liis instructor before him. In other words, he is a rontiniet in medicine,
knowing as little of the principles of his profession as the routine agricultu-
ralist knows of his.

iaii?i ntiuvva id ma.

14

•can be no question that much the larger portion of disease
arises from causes within our control.*

Let us now briefly examine the manner in which it is
proposed to accomplish this object, or in medical phrase,
to fulfil the indication.

The Professor of Chemistry will show you the elemen-
tary principles out of which this vast fabric of the uni-
verse is formed. He will demonstrate the composition of
the air we breathe, the water we drink ; and will prove
to you that infinitely varied as are the products of nature,
i they are all formed from a few simple elements, not ex-

* This truth has been very strongly illustrated by the prevalence of the
cholera during tho present year both in Europe and this country. The Reg-
ister General of England, in his report, says : " The population of England
has suffered, died and decreased during the quarter to a degree of which
there is no example during the present century. The annual mortality of
the summer quarter of 1849 exceeding the quarterly average by 53 per cent.
The excess has been caused almost entirely by cholera. In some districts
the people have died by hundreds or by thousands ; in others not far distant
few have died, the inhabitants have been unusually healthy." The Register
General very justly attributes this difference to the existence of local caus.
es of the disease, which might be removed or corrected. We have seen tho
same facts strongly illustrated in this country. The city of Utica, with a
population of aboat 15,000, is situated on the great thoroughfare from east to
west in the State of New York. The Erie canal passes through the centre
of the city ; and boats with cholera patients were continually passing and re-
passing. No pains were taken to exclude persons with the disease from en-
tering the city, but the public authorities were indefatigable in their efforts
to cleanse and purify the city, and the citizens were urged by the Board of
Health to guard against the exciting causes of the disease, and in case of
any indication of its approach to apply at once to their physicians. The re-
sult was that not a case of cholera was reported to the Board of Health ; the
actual mortality, as shown by the sexton's report, was 54 less than the year
previous, and but 26 more than tho average for the five preceeding years,
though the population has materially increased during that time. Too much
credit can scarce be awarded to our worthy mayor, Thomas R. Walker, Esq.,
for his exertions in producing this happy result.

15

ceeding fifty-five ; and that only about one third of them
are found in the animal economy. He will demonstrate
the properties of each, show how they combine and re-
combino, and how such combination differs from the origi-
nal elements ; and lastly, how they form the compound
elements, or elements of the animal tissues.

Tli.- Professor of Anatomy will show you how these tis-
sues combine to form the several organs, unravelling with
the dissecting knife this beautiful and complicated fabric.
He will exhibit to you muscles, tendons, bones, cartilages,
blood vessels and nerves, in the order and arrangement in
which they are placed by the great Architect of Nature.
In short, he will exhibit and demonstrate to you each part,
each organ and each fibre in the most complicated and
most perfect machine ever made. But this wonderful cre-
ation is still inanimate, a machine without motion. How
is it endowed with life ?

It is stated in the language of scripture that " God said
let us make man in our own image, after our likeness ; and
let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over
the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the
earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon
the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the
image of God created he him, male and female createdhe
them." " And the Lord God formed man of the dust of
the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life, and man became a living soul." From that moment
to the present the vital spark then breathed into his nos-
trils has been handed down from generation to generation.
Physiology will teach you how this vital principle is
transmitted, developed, sustained and nourished. It will
show you with what " nice adaptation and adjustment man

1G

is fitted to the universe in which he is placed ; the marvel-
lous reach and energy with which the narrow organs of
our narrow bodies extend their cognizance and display
their power. The nervous filaments are finer than a spi-
der's thread, yet they are the avenues of communication
between the world without and the world within. They
spread themselves out over a little space at the root of the
tongue and all the savors of nature become tributary to
our pleasure. They unfold themselves over a little space
in the olfactory organs, and we catch the perfumes of all
the zones. They are ramified over a little space in the
hollow of the ear, and the myriad voices of nature, from
the shrill insect, or the mellifluous song-bird to the organ-
tones of heaven's eathrcdral — the thunder — the cataract
and the ocean become our orchestra. They line a spot in
die interior of the eye so small that a tip of the finger
might cover it : when lo ! the earth and the heaven to the
remotest constellations that seem to glitter feebly on the
confines of space, are painted, quick as thought, in the
chambers of the brain. By these senses we hold connec-
tion with all external things, as though millions of tele-
graphic wires were stretched from every outward object
and came in converging lines to find their forms in our or-
gans, and through these inlets to pour their pictures, their
odors and their songs into the all-capacious brain. Nay,
better than this, for we have the pictures, the perfumes and
the music without the incumbrance of the wires."

But this mechanism so beautiful, so perfect, is surround-
ed by agencies which are constantly operating for good or
evil. The air we breathe, the water we drink, and the
food we eat may serve to sustain and nourish or to poison
the system. How is this to be known without study and

17

investigation ? We have learned from chemistry the con-
stituents of a healthy atmosphere, and the elementary
principles of which the body is composed. Physiology
teaches us that such an air is essential to life, and that the
body has no power of creating new materials, but must
be supplied in due proportions with those of which it is
composed, or it languishes or dies. We find then that
life and health are not matters of chance, but governed by
laws as immutable as those which hold the planets in their
course.

The Professor of Theory and Practice will explain to
you that disease and death are produced by a violation of
these natural laws, the symptoms of the different diseases,
and the mode of interrogating nature for their detection.
He will teach you that in the management of disease the
first step is to learn the cause, seat, nature, and natural
termination. If possible, to remove the cause, and place
the patient in the most favorable condition as to air, light,
food and drink. Having done this, the next question is
whether nature can be further aided in her efforts of res-
toration. There may be irritating matters in the stomach
or intestines that require to be expelled, or there may be
some conditions of the system requiring to be changed by
medical agents. Do not, however, indulge the supposi-
tion too often entertained by the illiterate, that there is a
specific virtue in medicinal agents rendering them antago-
nistic of disease. The physician can no more cure dis-
ease than the farmer can make his grain or grass to grow ;
all that he can do is to place his patient in the most favor-
able condition for his recovery, trusting to the laws of na-
ture for the result. Often medicinal agents may be un-

3

18

necessary, but if given, the indication should be clear, and
the effect expected to be produced well understood.

The Professor ol Materia Medica and General Pathol-
ogy will show you the consequences of disease, the chan-
ges in structure, and how death is produced. He, too,
will exhibit the armory for combatting disease. You will
see that every department of nature has been ransacked.
The earth and sea, the animal, the vegetable, and mineral
kingdoms have all been made to contribute their quota ;
and science has been exhausted in her efforts to detect and
separate the active principle from the inert mass. You
sometimes hear persons talk of Botanic physicians as if
he who drew his resources from a single kingdom of na-
ture was wiser or better than one who selected what was
valuable from all.

The Professor of Surgery will instruct you in the art of
managing those physical ills which affect the exterior of
the body, and the various operations which may become
necessary to save life or remove disease.

The Professor of Obstetrics will instruct in the cure and
attention due to woman in the most important and critical
periods of their lives, when not only the health, but the
life of both mother and child is intrusted to your care.
He will demonstrate to you that there is no department of
your profession demanding more skill, more intelligence
and self-possession. He shows you that in the more criti-
cal cases the life of the patient is actually dependent on
the skill of her attendant ; that there is no time to send for
council, none for reference to books, none for reflection.
Does he hesitate ? his patient is dead. A moment has
decided her fate. One moment sooner and his skill might

19

have saved her ; now, worlds cannot restore her to life !
Who would dare to assume such fearful responsibilities
without a conviction that they are fully prepared for every
emergency.

Medical Jurisprudence teaches you how this knowledge
is made available, in aiding the laws of our countiy, in
elucidating questions of jurisprudence, in convicting the
guilty and protecting the innocent.

It is not, however, the physical causes of disease, as the
crowded and heated apartment, the impure air, the un-
wholesome food and drink, and the inclement season that
are the only sources of disease in civilized life. Man is
not a mere animal : were it so our task would be com-
paratively light. The diseases of the savages are few and
simple, but with every step we take in civilization we find
they become more numerous, more complicated, and more
difficult of removal. In civilized life, the moral, the so-
cial, the political and religious atmosphere with which we
arc surrounded, all have an influence in producing or pre-
venting disease. It is a well established law of the animal
economy that moderate exercise of all the functions is es-
sential to their well being ; that over or extraordinary exer-
tion, if long continued, produces exhaustion ; and if per-
sisted in, disintegration and eventual destruction of the
part ; and that over exertion of one with a want of exer-
cise in the other parts produces irregular circulation and
eventual disease. A moderate stimulus and exercise of
the mind as well as the body, alternating with periods of
repose, is favorable to health ; but that social condition
which stimulates the intellect and the feelings to the ut-
most verge of endurance, to plunge them again into a state
of despondence is as unfavorable to the physical as it is to

20

the moral health of community. It is true that our dwell-
ings, intended to protect us from the inclement season, are
too often made, by the crowding bf apartments, the con-
fined, impure and heated atmosphere, the fountains of dis-
ease. Our food, which should be taken only to sustain
and nourish the system ; — the stomach, stimulated by
condiments — is forced to take what nature's self would
loathe. But the great cause of disease in civilized life is
the constant and unnecessary stimulus and exertion of
the nervous system, often to the entire neglect of exercise
of the muscular.

Scarce is the infant enabled to lisp the name of mother
when what is termed education commences. The brain,
still imperfectly organized, is stimulated to unnatural ex-
ertion, by praise, by bribery, and often by exciting some
of the worst passions of our nature, rivalry and jealousy.
Fortunate is the child if the over taxed brain does not
succumb and end in disease or death. If the individual
is so fortunate as to escape the perils which surround his
childhood, and arrive at an age to enter upon the active
duties of life, the same dangers await him. Whether he
enters the arena of political strife, or commercial specula-
tion, or the less exciting avocation of professional life,
success and distinction are only to be attained by unwear-
ied exertion, by days of anxious toil and restless nights.
The nervous system is continually taxed beyond its
strength, and it is as unreasonable to suppose that this can
continue without producing disease, as to suppose the
tired muscle can continue to labor without repose. Just
as he has reached the goal of his wishes the demon dys-
pepsia has seized him, his mental powers languish, his
vigor is exhausted, his food, instead of nourishing, produ-

21

ces pain and distress, and he either sinks into an untimely
grave or dragl out a life of suffering and misery. Like the
votaries of wealth in Europe, who go to the East Indies
m make their fortunes; they often accomplish their ohject
and return to Europe with broken health, and die leaving
their money to be enjoyed by others. Those of you who
practice in the cities will find nervous affections, M they
are termed, among the most frequent and intractable di-< ri-
ses which you will be called upon to treat. In the main,
they arise from unnecessary, never-ending effort of the
brain. In females from an unnatural and vicious mode of
education, where the feelings and emotions have been cul-
tivated at the expense of the intellect and neglect of the
moral sentiments, whilst sedentary habits and want of
muscular exercise enervates the body, novel reading and
company stimulate the brain to undue excitement, which,
when the temporary excitement is over sinks back into a
state of apathy, until anew novel or some new excitement
again arouses the energies ; thus the feelings and emotions
are in a constant state of alternate excitement and depres-

sion

Literary men are particularly liable to suffer from an
over-wrought brain, as their occupation is almost unceas-
ing and gives them no time for muscular exercise, and
they live in constant violation of the laws of health. When
Nature begins to cry out and complain of this constant vi-
olation of her laws, they apply to their physician. If he
is candid, he will tell them they are committing suicide,
andean only be saved by abandoning their occupation ;
but they answer this is impossible, they must be cured
without giving up business. Finding no satislaction from
the regular profession, they try the irregular; they pur-

22

chase a box of pills which are an infallible remedy for con-
stipation or dyspepsia, or for the liver complaint ; they
try to regulate their diet, live on brown bread, take a lit-
tle more exercise, and imagine they are a little better, but
still continue to work the over-wrought brain ; they re-
lapse and are as bad or worse than ever. At length some-
thing must be done. A friend recommends a Hydropathic
establishment, and they at last determine to try it. The
brain is now permitted to rest, pure air, simple and nour-
ishing food with regular exercise produce their natural ef-
fect, whilst wet sheets are thrown in by way of amuse-
ment. At the end of eight or ten weeks he returns with
improved health and satisfied to have paid eight or ten
dollars per week for luxuries which he spurned when of-
fered gratuitously by the hand of Nature ; thinks Hydro-
pathy a sovereign cure for all the ills of life, and rails
against the regular profession because they could not ar-
rest the laws of Nature and give him health when living in
constant violation of all its precepts. He returns to his
former occupation and habits and soon his enemy returns,
and he is compelled to resort again to Hydropathy with
less confidence than before. After years of suffering he is
forced to admit what was told him from the beginning
that his mode of living is incompatible with health.

Do not imagine that the importance of your profession,
the benevolence of its object or the integrity of its purpose
will shield you from calumny and reproach. You will find
learned editors whose knowledge of medicine is derived
from reading a manual on Homoeopathy or a hand book of
Hydropathy, who will denounce as murderers, men who
have devoted years of toil and labor in the acquisition of
their profession ; men whose days and nights have been

23

devoted to relieving the sufferings of their fellow men.
You will find able jurists who have never heard of any
other law than that contained in the statute book, and
who scarce know enough of Nature's laws to know the
composition of the air they breathe : clergymen who nev-
er dreamed of any other revelation than that contained in
the scriptures, who deride without hesitation questions of
medicinal doctrine and practice where those who have
grown gray in the profession would pause and hesitate.
Truly has it been said "where ignorance is bliss 'tis folly
to be wise." It has been said of surgeons that there are
two classes of bold operators ; the one where they had
a perfect knowledge and familiarity with the parts ; the
other were so ignorant as not to know the danger ; and
that the latter were always the boldest. So with those
who dogmatically pronounce their dixit on medical science.
We invariably find those who are most ignorant, the bold-
est and loudest in their denunciations against calomel and
the lancet or what they are pleased to term the old prac-
tice. The true physician, the real student of Nature pur-
sues his course regardless of such denunciation, trusting to
the intelligence and good sense of an enlightened public :
he pins his faith on no exclusive theory : he worships nei-
ther at the shrine of Hahneman or Priesnitz, but at that of
nature, the unerring work of his Creator. He does not
discard the accumulated experience of centuries to follow
some will-o'-the-whisp theory, neither does he learn " jurare
in verba magistri ;" but comparing hisknowledgeofNature'i
laws with the experience of those who have preceded him,
and his observation, he draws his own conclusions,— re-
membering the parable of our Lord and Savior, inasmuch

24

as ye have done it unto the least of these ye have done it
unto me ; and trusting as a reward of all his toil and la_
bor, in the last great day to receive the welcome, well done
thou good and faithful servant.

fPllHJ! T WWtW*

MEDICAL INSTITUTION OF CEAEVA COLLEGE.

The session of the Medical Lectures commences on the FIRST
WEDNESDAY OF MARCH, 1851, and continues sixteen weeks.

CHARLES BRODI1EAD COVENTRY, M. D.,

Professor of Obstetrics and Medical Jurisprudence:.

JAMES WEB8TER. M. D.,

Professor of Anatomy mid Physiology.

JAMES IIADLEY, M. D.,

Professor of Chemistry mid Phi

CHARLES ALFRED LEE. M. D.,

Professor of Materia Medico and General Pathology.

JAMES BRYAN, M. D.,

Professor of the Principles and Practice of Surgery.

WILLIAM SWEETSER, M. D.,

Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine.
GEORGE \V. FIELD, M. D.,

Demonstrator of Anatomy.

Fee for each ticket is 810, except Chemistry, which is $12 :
Matriculation ticket, $3 ; amounting in all to 805. The fee for
each course is uniformly required on taking out the ticket; or the
whole amount may be deposited with the Registrar at the com-
inencement of the term, which is recommended ; in which case the
Student receives a general ticket which entitles him to the tickets
of all the Profei

The ticket of each Professor is required, in all cases, to be taken
within ten days from the commencement of his course.

rl he Anatomical Rooms will be open at an early period of the
session, under the direction of the Demonstrator, subject to the
general supervision of the Professors.

In consequence of the many evils attendant upon the extension
of credit, the rules of the Institution require that the Tickets shall
be paid for in cash, or bills current at the residence of the Student.

CHARLES A. LEE, M. D., Dean.
Jame< IIaulev, M. D., Registrar.